one-day course

green woodworking: pole lathe turning

location: nr Penrith, Cumbria

Long before many of us were inspired by Ray Mears to learn about Bushcraft,  tutor David Alty was in the woods! The Wild food expertise, bushcraft and green woodworking skills he has acquired he enjoys sharing with all those who would like to (re)discover the wilder side of life. He currrently works in woodland management and green woodworking and runs courses and demonstrations to introduce people to spoon and bowl carving, wild food preparation, cooking and bushcraft.

David will bring a variety of  samples,teaching and reference materials and a selection of greenwoods for you to choose from. You will learn how to choose, prepare and split timber, and the various methods and styles of carving you could incorporate into your piece, which will entail using a variety of specialist tools. Once your piece is made David will make sure you understand about preserving and treating  your greenwood piece of art for optimum life. 

Students should all be able to create a finished object in a day and you will have acquired from David the necessary skills to recreate more at home. These are natural forms, in tune with nature and reminiscent of how we formed our first eating implements. Also, the actual carving of the spoon is incredibly relaxing and theraputic.

dates: see 'book online' below

more on green woodworking

the venue is a cafe on a coast-to-coast cycle path near Penrith, close to Ullswater and the northern fells of the Lake District